LIMITS TO REPRESENTATION: UNDERSTANDING POLITICIANS’ PERSPECTIVES ON CITIZENS’ ASSEMBLIES IN THE NETHERLANDS Unraveling Considerations on Deliberative Citizen Participation

Abstract

While politicians are key actors in decision-making around the implementation of citizens’ assemblies (CAs), little is known about their perceptions of these deliberative participation tools. This study aims to develop our understanding of how politicians reason about CAs and what considerations influence their perception, guided by the following research question: How do politicians reason about citizens’ assemblies, and which considerations influence these perceptions? The study analyzes in-depth interviews with Dutch politicians to corroborate and develop the three I’s framework developed by Christoph Niessen (2023). The results show that, although this existing theory helps understand politicians’ perceptions, it does not include all thematic considerations found in the interviews. Consequently, the key contribution of this thesis is the expansion and improvement of this framework with new considerations that emerged during the analysis. Particularly on what level of government the CAis implemented and what an appropriate topic is to hold a CA on prove to be important considerations in politicians’ reasoning on CAs that are not covered in the three I’s framework. Another essential contribution is the empirical exploration of an understudied aspect of deliberative democracy: the perspectives of political elites. The findings offer a nuanced understanding of the considerations influencing politicians’ perceptions of CAs, providing practical guidance for policy-makers and practitioners in enhancing democratic effectiveness. Overall, this study advances our knowledge of deliberative democracy perceptions and offers insights into what shapes the future of citizen participation and deliberative democracy.